They Abandoned Their Nets and Followed Him

Jesus called his Apostles to follow Him and they left everything behind to follow Him. Jesus also calls us to follow Him as well and the path He leads us down requires us to abandon certain things in our life. We can’t just change a little and expect to get where Jesus is leading us.

The life of a Christian takes us down a path of sacrifice and suffering. It often requires us to put the overall good and needs of others above our own selfish wants and desires. There have been a few prominent clergy who have said that they believe most people will be saved and only a few will end up in Hell. However, the unfortunate reality is that most people end up in Hell and not as many find their way to Heaven. Jesus states in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

That reality should be a wake up call for us all to really reflect on which gate we are headed towards. We don’t need to be perfect to enter into Heaven and it’s not impossible to enter the narrow gate, it’s just more difficult. So how do we guarantee we will make it through the narrow gate?

There are many Christian religions out there and each claim to know how to get to Heaven. While all Christian religions have some truth to them, the one with the fullness of truth is Catholicism. All of the other religions that formed after Catholicism, changed one belief here and another there and are left with just a partial truth. While salvation is definitely possible for other religions, it’s easier if we follow the path that the Catholic Church lays out for us. The Catholic Church gives us the sacraments and each sacrament helps us more easily stay on the narrow path.

Baptism marks us as a Christian and allows God’s sacrifice on Calvary to forgive all sin up to that point, including original sin. What a great blessing the sacrament of Reconciliation is. It allows us to gain forgiveness for our sins, after Baptism, with only an imperfect level of contrition. The Eucharist allows us to receive Jesus into our body and be as close to Him as possible in this life. In a world where God seems distant from us, it’s good to be close to Him in the sacrament of the Eucharist. The sacrament of Confirmation unites us more fully with Christ and increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us. The Anointing of the Sick gives us strength to overcome illness and the anxiety that illness causes and is also a final blessing of grace for those on their deathbed who are attempting to enter the narrow gate. The sacrament of Matrimony helps perfect the love between the spouses and strengthens their union. Holy Orders is given to those called to be a deacon, priest, or bishop and allows a baptized man to gain a permanent mark on his soul configuring him into a closer relationship with Jesus.

All of those sacraments help us in many different ways to find our way to Jesus. We should frequently receive the sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation and attend Mass as often as possible. Find ways to stay busy and productive as laziness and boredom can lead us astray. Work on building our relationship with Jesus and always work to learn more about Him and our faith. If we do all these things, we will have no problem finding the narrow gate that leads to eternal happiness. Abandon the nets that are holding us back and follow Jesus.